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WASHINGTON (AP) — Barack Obama’s former chief of staff had this to say in reaction to the Supreme Court decision to uphold the president’s health care overhaul: “Thank God for the rest of the country he didn’t listen to me.”

Now Chicago mayor, Rahm Emanuel, acknowledged he tried vigorously to steer Obama away from taking up the health care issue. He warned Obama of the potential political cost and the amount of time it would take away from other issues.

After Thursday’s decision, Emanuel praised his former boss and said Obama demonstrated courage and leadership in doing what “president after president of both parties tried to achieve” over decades.

Emanuel sent a congratulatory email to Obama for having the courage to — in his words — “bend the needle of history.”